Yesterday I headed to the Windy City to attend the Airports Going Green conference. The conference was bigger and better than ever, attracting nearly 400 people from all over the globe. In the presentations, some common themes emerged regarding airport sustainability. Though they won’t make your airports sustainable overnight, they are definitely food for thought that can set you on a successful sustainable journey.
- Attention to small details matter. Jim Elwood, director of aviation at Aspen Airport, shares how adding water dispensing stations for passengers to fill their water bottles and planting wildflowers outside generated more press and more goodwill than the larger projects the airports took on. “These little things really do add up and they really do matter,” he says.
- Just do it. Elwood stresses it’s not necessary to move mountains overnight. It’s just necessary to start down the sustainability path.
- Collaborate with the community. A theme heard again and again in each presentation. “It’s about having a conversation with the people on the ground,” says Commissioner Rosemarie Andolino of the Chicago Department of Aviation, adding that “the entire community has something positive to say and to offer” if you listen. It’s also a way to reach the non-believers, notes Thella Bowens, president and CEO of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority. She adds, “Our community is incredibly proud of the projects we’ve done, in spite of being incredibly opposed to the projects in the beginning.” She notes the airport gained supporters through collaboration with the community, the customer, the employee, the finance committee and the operations staff.
- Get the management on-board, notes Scott Morrissey, the director of environmental programs at Denver International Airport. “If the chief executives aren’t on board, your sustainability program won’t go anywhere,” he says.
- Benchmark. Airports need to study how they measure up to other airports. This is one way they can get the attention of top-level executives and the community at large, according to Morrissey.
- Provide a safe place for everyone to be heard and then assess and prioritize the ideas they present. “This helps everyone feel like they have a voice and that they’ve been heard,” Morrissey says.
- Define what sustainability means. Without a shared definition, it’s difficult to devise a sustainability plan that works for your airport and your community.
- Finally, set goals that are achievement-based and develop a means of measuring your results. Then share those results with all the stakeholders involved.
And remember, even with these efforts, you may not reach all the non-believers, stresses Marijn Ornstein, senior manager safety, environment and firebrigade, at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. “There is not always a solid case to do these things. Sometimes you just have to lead and do the right thing.”
